A hidden gem at South Coast Plaza, Jostmar Jewelers will relocate after 35 years
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Deep inside the bowels of Costa Mesa’s South Coast Plaza, past dazzling storefront window displays showcasing the latest trends and down a hallway traversed mainly by shoppers seeking restrooms is one gem of a business — Jostmar Jewelers & Watch Repair.
A tenant of the shopping mecca for the past 35 years, jewelry repair craftsman Todd Jost has quietly served customers, some of them employees needing a quick repair or polish and others sent there by department store salespeople who lack the training to fix what they sell.
“The stores really don’t want to handle [repairs], they don’t want to bother with it, they just want to sell. So the stores usually refer them to us,” the 79-year-old Lake Forest resident said Thursday.
The latest Level 1 location, at the end of a hallway sandwiched between a Steve Madden accessories boutique and a LEGO store, is where Jostmar’s shingle has hung for the last 22 years and where Jost and wife Pat have worked alongside a group of watch repair specialists, operating from a separate counter inside the business.
“I’ve been in five different locations here, and we’ve always been down a long hallway by restrooms, always. I don’t know why,” Jost said. “But people end up finding us when they go to the restroom, and they come in.”
And, boy, do they ever. In the course of an hour or two, the tiny shop sees 20 or more customers coming in with bracelets, necklaces or watches needing a tweak here or an extra link there. Many stop to admire or try on resale jewelry laid out in display cases.
But all that is about to change. After 35 years, Jostmar Jewelers is winding down its South Coast Plaza operations on Jan. 31, before relocating in March to a counter at the Watch Connection down the way, at 3033 Bristol St.
The watch repair portion of Jostmar will fly solo, moving into a storefront at 2968 Randolph Ave. in Costa Mesa, under the name 9-High Watch Services.
Jost says South Coast Plaza officials are planning to renovate and reconfigure the area around the shop. Accommodating that work would require the temporary relocation of massive wooden counters and work tables, not to mention the many, many pieces of heavy equipment and tools used in his craft.
“They wanted us to move somewhere, but then we’d have to move again,” he explains. “It was just the time to say we’re done. The [9-High] boys wanted to do something different. The mall’s been very good to us, but it’s time.”
Jostmar Jewelers’ new footprint will be a little smaller. The goldsmith plans to work a reduced schedule at Watch Connection — working Thursday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. — after he and his wife take a much-needed vacation.
Pat met Todd in the mid-1980s, after a divorce led her to Jostmar to have her diamond ring repurposed. She married the goldsmith six years later and eventually began working with him in the late ’90s, after her work in the mortgage banking industry hit a snag due to economic conditions.
“I said, ‘I think I’ll come work with you, it’ll be fun, we can have lunch together,’” she recalled Friday. “And all these years later, we’ve never once gone out for lunch.”
Today, she handles a lot of the business side of things, while her husband focuses on the trade and customer service. The couple work in slightly staggered shifts, so Jostmar can stay open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. six days a week, excluding Fridays. Pat, who turns 70 in March, is looking forward to finally taking a vacation.
“Since I don’t even know how long I’ve been working here, the late ’90s, the most we’ve ever had is three days off, when a holiday falls on a Monday,” she said.
Joe Dekermenjian, who began repairing watches with father Jack at age 17 and now, at 46, oversees watch repair services at Jostmar, acknowledges the upcoming move — which entails disentangling the two enterprises after decades of partnership — is bittersweet.
“We’ve seen each other every day for the last three decades, but I think also both of us are ready for a different environment and perspective,” he said. “Luckily we both do something that’s unique and in demand. And being here this many years, we have loyal customers.”
That is something to which Newport Beach resident Marie Perrone can personally attest. She’s been going to Jostmar Jewelers for over 10 years, after a friend of hers who lives in Riverside recommended the business.
On Thursday, she came in to get some earring posts repaired and learned of the move. Will she make the move to Jost’s new counter at the Bristol Street Watch Connection?
“Oh sure, definitely,” she said. “I haven’t found any other place that does nice repairs like him. Once he didn’t even charge me. It’s a very nice business. I’m sure people will follow him.”
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